U.S. patent application number 09/731814 was filed with the patent office on 2001-10-18 for interactive graphical user interface and method for previewing media products.
Invention is credited to Zainoulline, Roustem.
Application Number | 20010030660 09/731814 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26865558 |
Filed Date | 2001-10-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010030660 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Zainoulline, Roustem |
October 18, 2001 |
Interactive graphical user interface and method for previewing
media products
Abstract
A method for enhancing the user's experience by synchronizing a
multimedia feature with the movement of an indicating device. In
one embodiment, a method is provided for previewing media products
including the steps of providing a preview device for previewing
predetermined preview clips of pre-recorded media products,
interactively indicating which media product is to be previewed,
and instantly playing the preview clips of an indicated
pre-recorded media product in real time without noticeable delay.
The plurality of pre-recorded media products may be music, video,
movie, electronic game program, or a software program. An
interactive graphical user interface is also provided for allowing
a user to remotely preview media products through a communications
link where the GUI includes a plurality of trigger fields
identifying a plurality of pre-recorded media products, each of the
plurality of trigger fields being associated with a preview clip.
Upon moving a cursor into one of said plurality of trigger fields,
a preview clip associated therewith is instantly played in real
time without noticeable delay.
Inventors: |
Zainoulline, Roustem;
(Germantown, MD) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Roustem Zainoulline
19911 Appledowre Circle
Germantown
MD
20876
US
|
Family ID: |
26865558 |
Appl. No.: |
09/731814 |
Filed: |
December 8, 2000 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60169974 |
Dec 10, 1999 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/720 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/04812 20130101;
H04L 9/40 20220501; H04L 65/1101 20220501 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/720 ;
345/856 |
International
Class: |
G06F 003/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A method for previewing media products comprising the steps of:
providing a preview device for previewing predetermined preview
clips of a plurality of pre-recorded media products; interactively
indicating which of said plurality of pre-recorded media products
is to be previewed; and instantly playing said preview clips of an
indicated pre-recorded media product in real time.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of pre-recorded
media products is at least one of music, video, movie, electronic
game program, and software program.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein said preview device includes an
immediately accessible staging memory adapted to at least
temporarily store said preview clips to allow instant playing
thereof.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein said preview clips of said
plurality of prerecorded media products are stored in a media
product storage device.
5. The method of claim 4, further including the steps of retrieving
and preloading said preview clips into said staging memory of said
previewing device from said media product storage device.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein said previewing device is at
least one of a computer, a set top box, an Internet appliance
connected to a communications link, a listening booth, a kiosk, an
in-store juke box, and a previewing computer.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein said media product storage device
is at least one of a hard drive, a server, a mini-disc, a CD, a
DVD, a Laser Disc, and a solid state memory device.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein said previewing device is a
computer and said staging memory is at least one of RAM, cache
memory of a hard drive, and a portion of a hard drive.
9. The method of claim 5, wherein said previewing device includes a
display device having a graphical user interface (GUI) and objects
representing said preview clips pre-loaded into said staging memory
are displayed on said display device via said GUI.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of interactively
indicating which of said plurality of pre-recorded media products
the user wants to preview includes the step of moving a graphically
embodied cursor of said GUI over a trigger field displayed on said
GUI.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of instantly playing
said preview clip of an indicated pre-recorded media product occurs
upon said cursor entering said trigger field.
12. The method of claim 11, further including the step of instantly
terminating playing of said preview clip of an indicated
pre-recorded media product when said cursor leaves said trigger
field.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein said cursor is moved by an
input device operated by the user, said input device being at least
one of a mouse, a track ball, a touch pad and a touch screen.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein each of said predetermined
preview clips are segments representative of contents of one of
said plurality of pre-recorded media products.
15. An interactive graphical user interface for allowing a user to
preview media products comprising: a plurality of trigger fields
identifying a plurality of pre-recorded media products, each of
said plurality of trigger fields being associated with a preview
clip of at least one of said plurality of pre-recorded media
products; wherein upon moving a cursor into one of said plurality
of trigger fields, a preview clip associated therewith is instantly
played in real time.
16. The interactive graphical user interface of claim 15, wherein
said GUI is further adapted to instantly terminate playing of said
preview clip associated with said one of said plurality of trigger
fields when said cursor leaves said trigger field.
17. The interactive graphical user interface of claim 15, wherein
said cursor is moved by an input device operated by the user, said
input device being at least one of a mouse, a track ball, a touch
pad and a touch screen.
18. The interactive graphical user interface of claim 15, wherein
said plurality of trigger fields further include at least one
textual tag adapted to be launched by a user clicking on said
trigger, said at least one textual tag including associated
instruction embedded therein for executing a subroutine
program.
19. The interactive graphical user interface of claim 18, wherein
said subroutine program launches a streaming playback of a complete
media product from a remote server.
20. The interactive graphical user interface of claim 18, wherein
said GUI is provided for access to a remotely located website, and
said subroutine program launches download of said pre-recorded
media product being previewed into a remotely located computer.
21. The interactive graphical user interface of claim 20, wherein
said download of said pre-recorded media product being previewed
constitutes purchasing of said pre-recorded media product.
22. The interactive graphical user interface of claim 18, wherein
said GUI is provided for access to a remotely located website, and
said subroutine program flags said pre-recorded media product being
previewed for purchase, said website further comprising a "shopping
cart" which is at least temporarily assigned to a visitor of said
website, said "shopping cart" being adapted to keep track of media
products flagged for purchase.
23. The interactive graphical user interface of claim 22, wherein
upon purchasing of said pre-recorded media product, said purchased
pre-recorded media product is downloaded into a remote computer
through said communications link.
24. The interactive graphical user interface of claim 15, wherein
said plurality of pre-recorded media products is at least one of
music, video, movie, electronic game program, and software
program.
25. The interactive graphical user interface of claim 15, wherein
said preview clip is a segment representative of contents of one of
said plurality of pre-recorded media products.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/169,974 filed Dec. 10, 1999.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is related to the field of user
interfaces and methods for previewing media products. More
specifically, the invention relates to interactive graphical user
interfaces and methods that allow previewing of the media product
prior to its purchase.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
[0003] According to recent industry data, there are over 700 new
musical compact discs ("CDs") is released in any given week. This
is largely driven by the widely different consumer musical taste
which require continual expansion of musical styles and artists. At
the artist level, the proliferation of new music markets, styles
and tastes has caused the number of record labels to increase
dramatically. The record industry has expanded from several major
labels in the 1970s to more than 2,500 distributed and independent
labels today. Each year more than 2,500 new artists are introduced
into an already crowded market.
[0004] Despite the explosion of CD sales, most consumers are
hesitant in purchasing new CD largely because of they are
relatively expensive, with retail prices ranging from $14-$18. This
is especially true with new artists since consumers are more
reluctant to explore new and/or unproven artists for fear of
wasting money. Moreover, although there are countless numbers of
purchasable music, there are very few mechanisms to assist the
consumer in evaluating these choices. To facilitate the musical
purchase selection process, retail stores set up listening booths,
kiosks, in-store juke boxes, sample computers, or other like trial
stations where customers can preview some of the available products
by selecting through various menus and listening to a selected song
thereby allowing the customer to decide on whether he or she wants
to purchase the product.
[0005] For example, a music previewing devices called PICS Previews
have user interface including a television screen with a large
keypad covered with miniature album covers, and these are locked
into a laser disk player. A master disk which holds a fixed number
of video clips is used as the source of music information. The
consumer is permitted to view a video which represents a selection
from the album. U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,157 to Kaplan discloses a
user-interactive multi-media based point-of-preview kiosks that
allow the consumer, as a subscriber, to preview music before
purchasing selections at record stores. Kaplan's device
incorporates a graphical user interface (GUI) and has a
hi-resolution touchscreen monitor to allow the consumer to preview
selected clips of a pre-recorded product by touching various items
on the menu screen. Although these devices have aided in providing
consumers assistance in their music purchasing decisions, these
devices have failed to significantly facilitate the music preview
process. The interaction and input required by the consumer in
previewing numerous selections takes significant amount of time and
effort as each selection is identified through a series of menus
and the chosen music selection is loaded and played. Thus, the
present inventor has found that this method of previewing music
selections detracts from the consumer's previewing and shopping
experience since much time is wasted in interacting and selecting
the previews.
[0006] On a related matter, the Internet has greatly facilitated
the sale and distribution of music. The Internet is a worldwide
network of computers linked together by various hardware
communication links all running a standard suite of protocols known
as TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol).
Software viewers known as browsers and HTTP (hypertext transfer
protocol) allow a simple graphical user interface (GUI) thereby
facilitating communication and data transfer over the Internet.
Browsers generally reside on the computer used to access the
Internet such as the consumer's computer. HTTP is a component of
TCP/IP and provides users access to files of various formats using
a standard page description language known as HTML (hypertext
markup language). The collection of servers on the Internet using
HTTP has become known as the "World Wide Web" or simply the "Web".
Through HTML, and interactive programming protocols, the author of
a particular web page, or pages, is able to make information
available to viewers of the web page by placing the web pages on an
Internet web server in HTML format. The network path to the server
is identified by a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and, generally,
any client running a web browser can access the web pages by the
URL. The Web and its authoring, transmission, and display
protocols, such as browsers, HTML and Java.TM., have become a
worldwide standard for information exchange.
[0007] The Web has become very common in businesses and homes
because it has proven to be convenient for various applications,
such as news and data delivery, conducting banking and investment
transactions, and the like. The Web has also become a major vehicle
for purchasing music. For instance, numerous national retailers
have created web sites for allowing consumers to preview and
purchase CDs over the Web. Retailer sites such as CDNow.com,
barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com and towerrecords.com all provide web
sites that in one form or another, allow consumers to preview music
and purchase CDs. Previews of music selections are made possible by
navigating through numerous menus which identify a music category,
artist and album. At the end of the navigation chain, by selecting
a song title from those listed in an album, the consumer can
preview the selection in the comforts of his or her home. However,
like the preview kiosks discussed above, the present inventor has
found that this method of previewing music selections has
shortcomings in that it detracts from the consumer's previewing and
shopping experience since much time is wasted in loading and/or
pre-buffering and launching the previews.
[0008] As known in the art and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,457
to Beitel et al., graphical user interfaces are typically provided
with numerous trigger fields which can be indicated by a user
moving a cursor to the field under control of a mouse or by another
input device and be selected by the clicking a button on the mouse
or other input device to "launch" the program, subroutine, or other
processing function associated with the selected trigger field. In
the above noted web sites, such trigger fields typically correspond
to a specific musical genre, artist, or song. More specifically, in
these prior art web sites, when a displayed song is launched by
clicking a mouse button, an audio player program such as Windows
Media Player.TM. or RealPlayer.TM. is launched and data which
comprises a preview clip of the song is played for the consumer. In
the case of the Windows Media Player.TM., the data constituting the
preview clip of the song has to be first "downloaded" from the
retailer's web site via the Internet using the compressed format
called MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) onto the consumer's
computer and subsequently decompressed and played by the Windows
Media Player.TM. as an audible tune. In the case of the
RealPlayer.TM., the data constituting the preview clip of the song
is continuously fed from the retailer's web site via the Internet
to the consumer's computer in a "network data stream" and this data
is continuously received and rendered by the RealPlayer into an
audible tune. Because the music is played as the data is being
received, the possibility of interruptions in music playback exists
if the flow of data in the network stream is interrupted while
traversing the Internet. To avoid such interruptions, a buffer of
about sixteen seconds worth of playback data has to be filled with
downloaded playback data prior to starting playback of the song. In
addition, because of the limited bandwidth of most Internet
connections as currently provided by Internet Service Providers
(ISPs), the network stream method only provides "monophonic" sound
rather than "stereophonic" sound which is possible using the high
quality MPEG format. However, because MPEG files have to be first
downloaded off the Internet, significant amount of wait time is
incurred by the consumer. This further detracts from the consumer's
previewing and shopping experience and is detrimental to media
product vendor's selling efficiency since it takes so long to
effectively preview numerous song selections.
[0009] Therefore, there exists an unfulfilled need for an improved
user interface that allows consumers to preview media products in
an efficient manner such that the previewing and shopping
experience is enhanced for the consumer. In addition, there also
exists an unfulfilled need for an improved graphical user interface
that will minimize the time wasted during the previewing process.
There also exists an unfulfilled need for an improved method of
previewing media products which will minimize the time wasted
during the previewing process such that the previewing and shopping
experience is enhanced for the consumer.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present
invention to provide an improved user interface that will enhance
the consumers previewing and shopping experience.
[0011] A second object of the present invention is to provide an
improved user interface that allows consumers to preview media
products in an efficient manner.
[0012] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an
interactive graphical user interface that will minimize the time
wasted during the previewing process.
[0013] Still further, it is an object of the present invention to
provide an improved method of previewing media products which will
also attain the above objectives.
[0014] A fifth object of the present invention is to keep
users/consumers engaged in interactive experiences by having the
users/consumers interact with a media preview device in real time
thereby eliminating time wasted on waiting for downloads and
promoting a continuous shopping experience as well as impulse
purchases.
[0015] In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present
invention, these objects are obtained by an improved interactive
graphical user interface for previewing media products where the
preview clip of the media product is played instantly without
noticeable delay upon the user/consumer indicating or activating
the media product to be previewed. In this regard, the preferred
embodiments provides a method for previewing media products
including the steps of providing a preview device for previewing
predetermined preview clips of a plurality of prerecorded media
products, interactively indicating which of the plurality of
prerecorded media products is to be previewed, and instantly
playing the preview clips of an indicated pre-recorded media
product in real time without noticeable delay. The plurality of
pre-recorded media products may be at least one of music, video,
movie, electronic game program, and software program. The
instantaneous previewing may be attained by providing a preview
device that includes an immediately accessible staging memory
adapted to at least temporarily store the preview clips to allow
instant playing thereof. In addition, an interactive graphical user
interface is provided for allowing a user to remotely preview media
products through a communications link where the GUI includes a
plurality of trigger fields identifying a plurality of pre-recorded
media products, each of the plurality of trigger fields being
associated with a preview clip of at least one of the plurality of
prerecorded media products. Upon moving a cursor into one of said
plurality of trigger fields, a preview clip associated therewith is
instantly played in real time without noticeable delay.
[0016] These and other objects, features and advantages of the
present invention will become more apparent from the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention
when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a graphical user
interface for previewing a media product in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a method for
previewing media products in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of one implemented
embodiment the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the method for
previewing media products in accordance with another embodiment of
the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a view of one embodiment of the improved graphical
user interface in accordance with the present invention implemented
via the Internet.
[0022] FIG. 6 is a view of a window having the improved graphical
user interface of FIG. 5.
[0023] FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a trigger field which may be
used in the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 8 is a view of a window having the improved graphical
user interface in accordance with another embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] Generally stated, the present invention is directed to a
graphical user interface where the user's experience with a
multimedia feature such as audio or visual playback can be changed
in real-time in accordance with the position of an indicating
device. The indicating device can be any commonly used device such
as a pointer, tracking instrument such as a cursor, a mouse, a
joystick, a touch screen, etc. Thus, the user's experience with the
multimedia feature is synched or synchronized to the movement of
the indicating device.
[0026] In the embodiments described herein below, an improved
interactive graphical user interface and method is provided for
previewing media products such as music, videos, movies, electronic
game programs and even software programs, etc. where a preview clip
of the media product is played instantly without noticeable delay
upon the user/consumer indicating or activating the media product
to be previewed. Thus, the user's experience with the multimedia
feature, i.e. previewing of the media product, is synchronized to
the movement of the indicating device. FIG. 1 schematically
illustrates a graphical user interface 1 (hereinafter "GUI") for
previewing media products in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention. As can be seen, the GUI 1 displays an array of
trigger fields 3 on a display device 10 of the preview device 2,
each of the trigger fields 3 corresponding to a pre-selected
preview clip 5 of a media product. In accordance with the present
embodiment, the preview clips 5 are instantly played by the preview
device 2 when the user/consumer (not shown) interactively indicates
via the GUI 1 which media product he or she desires to preview, the
playback being in real time without noticeable delay. In this
manner, the present invention allows the user to preview media
products in an efficient manner with minimal waste of time such
that the previewing and shopping experience is enhanced thereby
encouraging consumer's extended interaction with, and exploring of,
the selection of media products offered, and thereby enhancing
prospects of purchasing of one of the previewed media products
offered.
[0027] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the general method in
accordance with the present invention. As can be seen, the present
interactive GUI method includes the steps of:
[0028] 6--providing a previewing device with a graphical user
interface that allows a consumer to preview pre-selected preview
clips of various pre-recorded media products;
[0029] 7--interactively indicating which of the various
pre-recorded media product is to be previewed; and
[0030] 8--instantly playing the preview clip of the indicated
pre-recorded media product in real time without noticeable
delay.
[0031] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates one possible embodiment of
the hardware for implementation of the present invention. As can be
seen, a preview device 2 having a CPU 4, RAM memory 6, staging
memory 8, a display device 10, a sound device 11 and an input
device 12, which in the present embodiment, are all connected to a
bus 14 that allows electrical communication between these
components and control of the preview device 2. Other hardware
and/or software components may include an operating system 18, GUI
program 20, device programs 22, a player program 24 for playing the
indicated preview clip and an optional secondary storage 25. The
bus 14 is also connected to a media product storage device 16 which
stores the various pre-recorded media products and the pre-selected
preview clips of these various pre-recorded media products. The
preview device 2 is adapted to load the player program 24 into the
RAM memory 6. The preview device 2 is also adapted to retrieve and
pre-loaded preview clips of various pre-recorded media products
stored in the media product storage device 16 into the immediately
accessible staging memory 8 of the preview device 2 such as in the
secondary storage 25. Selection of the pre-recorded media products
of which are representative preview clips have been pre-loaded into
the staging memory 8 are displayed on the display device 10 via the
GUI program 20. As shown, the user/consumer 26 (hereinafter "user")
interacts with the preview device 2 via the display device 10 and
the input device 12 to indicate which of the pre-recorded media
products is to be previewed.
[0032] Upon receiving interactive indication from the user 26 via
the input device 12 as to which of the pre-recorded media products
is to be previewed, the preview device 2 launches playback of the
preview clip of the indicated pre-recorded media product from the
staging memory 8 via the player program 24 (which may be executed
using the CPU 4 and the RAM memory 6) such that the preview is
played instantly in real time. The user may also quickly evaluate
the media product selections by interactively activating trigger
fields among the various media products displayed on the display
device 10. In accordance with this embodiment, as another media
product is indicated by the user, the playback of the preview clip
of the previously indicated media product is terminated upon
crossing out of (i.e. leaving) the corresponding trigger field and
the playback of the preview clip of the newly indicated media
product is instantly started upon crossing into (i.e. entering) a
corresponding trigger field. The preview clips pre-loaded in the
staging memory 8 may be over-written by other preview clips when
the user 26 indicates that he or she has completed interacting with
the selection of the media products displayed on the display device
10 via the GUI program 20 by taking action or command such as
"Scroll to the Next Selection Page" or "Close the Window".
[0033] The preview clip of the selected music, video, movie, etc.
is played through the sound device 11 and/or display device 10
depending on the media product. Thus, songs/music/sound is
instantly played through the sound device 11 while video clips of
the video, movie, etc. are played through the video display device
10 as well. This instant, real time playing of the preview clip is
made possible because the preview clips have been pre-loaded into
the staging memory 8 of the preview device 2 thereby eliminating
the wait time associated with "downloading" or establishing and
pre-buffering a "network data stream" as required in prior art
devices and methods when a preview of the media product is desired
or indicated. In this manner, the user's experience with the
multimedia feature is synched or synchronized to the movement of
the indicating device. In this regard, the present embodiment
provides an improved interactive graphical user interface and
method for previewing media products where the preview clip of the
media product is played instantly on demand without noticeable
delay upon the user/consumer indicating (or activating) the media
product to be previewed. This allows the user to preview media
products in an efficient manner with minimal waste of time such
that the previewing and shopping experience is enhanced thereby
encouraging consumer's extended interaction with, and exploration
of, the selection of media products offered and, thereby enhancing
prospects of purchasing of one of the previewed media products
offered. In this regard, the preview clips may be carefully
selected to entice the user/consumer to purchase the product. For
instance, the preview clips of a song may be the catchy chorus part
of the song. For movies, it may be a trailer scene which is easily
recognizable as the scene from the movie, etc.
[0034] As previously noted, the media products to which the present
invention applies includes music, videos, movies, etc. The present
invention may also be applied to electronic game programs and even
software programs etc. where previews of the products or
information about the products will facilitate the user/consumer in
making the decision to purchase the media product. Thus, whereas in
the case of music, the indicated song is previewed via the sound
device 11, in case of other media products, a video clip is also
displayed together with music/sound via the display device 10 so
that videos, movies, electronic game programs and even software
programs, etc. may be previewed visually. In addition, because the
present invention is an interactive GUI and method for previewing
media products, the present invention may be applied across
numerous different hardware implementations of preview devices and
methods. For example, the present invention may be readily applied
to web sites on the World Wide Web that preview, sell and/or
distribute the above noted media products. Furthermore, the present
invention may also be implemented in listening booths, kiosks,
in-store juke boxes, sample computers, or other preview stations
such as set top boxes like Web TV.TM., Internet appliances and the
like to allow customers to preview available media products.
[0035] To clearly illustrate the preferred embodiments of the
present invention and how the present invention may be applied and
implemented to provide the user with experience with the multimedia
feature which is synchronized to the movement of the indicating
device, several embodiments of an improved interactive graphical
user interface in accordance with the present invention are
discussed herein below. However, it should be noted that the
present invention is not limited thereto and the present invention
may be practiced in other alternative embodiments and applied in
other implementations not specifically disclosed or discussed
below.
[0036] As noted above, the present invention provides an effective
method for enabling a user to preview a clip of media products such
as pre-recorded music and songs from an Internet web site which
contains pre-selected clips of the pre-recorded music and songs by
using a computer which serves as the preview device. As can be seen
in FIG. 4, the method used in such an implementation includes the
steps of:
[0037] 31--using a computer to establish a telecommunications link
to an Internet web site which contains pre-selected preview clips
of various pre-recorded songs;
[0038] 32--pre-loading the preview clips of the various
pre-recorded songs into the user's computer's staging memory;
[0039] 33--interactively indicating which of the various
pre-recorded songs is to be previewed; and
[0040] 34--instantly rendering playback of the preview clip of the
indicated prerecorded song from the user's computer's staging
memory in real time.
[0041] As can be appreciated, the illustration of FIG. 3 is equally
applicable to the above described computer/Internet implementation
of the present invention. In this implementation, the preview
device 2 would be the user's computer with its associated
components. Of course, components such as the CPU 4, RAM memory 6
and bus 14 are known to be present in a conventional computer. In
addition, the staging memory 8 would be equivalent to a portion of
the hard drive and the various other components stored in the hard
drive including an operating system, device drivers, software
programs, etc. The input device 12 may be a mouse, a track ball, a
touch pad or other devices. The display device would be the monitor
and the sound device 11 comprised of the sound card and speakers.
The media product storage device 16 would be the web site server
which contains the pre-recorded songs and the pre-selected preview
clips of these songs. In this implementation, a communication link
with the web site server (i.e. media product storage device) is
established over the Internet by means of a communication device
such as a modem over a communications medium such as telephone
line, ISDN, DSL, fiber-optic, cable, satellite dish and PCS system
(not shown).
[0042] As noted previously, in the above described embodiments, the
pre-loaded preview clips of the song or the media product may be
stored in the staging memory 8 which may happen to be a cache
memory area, in effect, a designated part of the hard drive of the
computer used by a standard Web browser software. This embodiment
provides flexibility and ease of use in the Internet implementation
discussed above since commonly used browsers such as the
Microsoft's Internet Explorer.TM. and the Netscape's Navigator.TM.
already utilize such hard drive caching memory management schemes
for temporarily storing data from the web sites being visited.
Because the hard drives have fast data access times and transfer
rates, the preview clips stored in the hard drive cache of the
computer can be accessed and played in an instant without
noticeable delays. Another advantage in utilizing an Internet
browser is attained in the fact that these commonly used browsers
typically also include a embedded sound program within the browser
itself so that such program is readily available in RAM memory of
the computer to play the preview clips of the pre-recorded music
and songs. In alternative embodiments however, the pre-loaded
preview clips may alternatively be stored in the RAM memory
itself.
[0043] For further elaboration on the implementation described
above, FIG. 5 illustrates an improved interactive graphical user
interface 40 (hereinafter "GUI") in accordance with one embodiment
of the present invention as implemented in a preview window screen
42 of an Internet web site 44. The web site 44 was accessed using
the browser Netscape Navigator.TM. 46 and the web site 44 is of the
type that allows the user to preview pre-recorded songs and
purchase and/or download these songs via the Internet. In this
particular illustrated example, the web site 44 shown is
www.wiremusix.com but other web sites may practice the present
invention in the manner disclosed.
[0044] For discussion purposes, a separate view of the preview
window screen 42 is more clearly shown in FIG. 6. As can be seen,
the interactive GUI 40 contains a page featuring a plurality of
song selections 48 which are provided within corresponding trigger
fields 50. When the preview window screen 42 is launched by the
user visiting the previous screen (not shown) of the web site 44,
the preview clips corresponding to the plurality of song selections
48 are pre-loaded into the cache memory in the hard drive by the
browser Netscape Navigator.TM. 46. Once the GUI 40 in the preview
window screen 42 is displayed, the consumer indicates one of the
plurality of song selections 48 which he or she would like to
preview by moving the cursor 52 into one of the trigger fields 50
by means of a mouse or other input device such as a track ball,
touch pad or infrared remote control (not shown). When this
indication by the consumer occurs, playback of the preview clip of
the song indicated is instantly launched from the cache memory of
the hard drive in real time as the user/consumer manipulates the
cursor. Thus, in the illustration of FIG. 5, the song "Movie Star"
is played instantly for the consumer in real-time by mere
indication of which song to preview via moving the cursor 52 over
the trigger field without the consumer having to perform an added
step of clicking on the song, waiting for a "download" of the
preview clip or waiting to establish and pre-buffer a "network data
stream" as required in the prior art preview graphical user
interfaces. As another song is indicated by the user via moving the
cursor 52, the playback of the preview clip of the previously
indicated song "Movie Star" is terminated and the preview clip of
the newly indicated media product is instantly played. Again, this
immediate playing of the newly selected preview clip is attained by
the fact that the preview clip is pre-loaded in the cache memory on
the hard drive.
[0045] In the present illustrated embodiment, the preview is
actually started when the cursor 52 is merely moved into a trigger
field 50 and stopped when the cursor 52 is moved out of the trigger
field 50. Thus, in this example, the instructions and subroutines
associated with each of the trigger fields 50 are executed upon
mere movement of the cursor 52 into the trigger field 50. The
additional action of clicking on the mouse button in the trigger
field 50 is not required for previewing in this embodiment. A clip
of a computer code that may be used to implement the embodiment of
the present invention as illustrated in FIG. 6 of the application
is reproduced in APPENDIX A reproduced below. This allows the
additional action of clicking on the mouse button to be reserved
for another functionality. For instance, in the illustrated GUI 40
of FIG. 6, the song titles 48 within the trigger fields 50 are
themselves, triggers having associated instructions and subroutines
for additional features and/or functions. For instance, during or
after the preview of a particular indicated song, the user may
clicking on the song title itself to:
[0046] a) launch a streaming playback of the complete song from a
server computer;
[0047] b) launch download of the complete song;
[0048] c) launch playback from a local media product storage
device;
[0049] d) mark the song and/or media product with the song for
placement in a "shopping cart" for a subsequent purchase during
checkout; or
[0050] e) retrieve a list other songs by the same artist or in the
same genre.
[0051] In this regard, the trigger field 50 may be provided with
more than one textual tags, each of the textual tags being
associated with a different function or feature. Such a trigger
field 50 is schematically illustrated in FIG. 7. As can be seen,
here the trigger field 50 is provided with three textual tags 51,
each of which fires execution of one or more of the functions shown
(at the end of the corresponding arrows). Thus, Trigger 1 may
function to launch a playback of the complete song, Trigger 2 may
function to display a list of other songs by the same artist while
Trigger 3 may function to display other songs in the same
genre.
[0052] Of course, it should be noted that in an alternative
embodiment, the GUI 40 may be such that the user must move the
cursor 52 into one of the trigger fields 50 and click on the
trigger field 50 in order to start the previewing of the selected
preview clip. Even in this embodiment, because the preview clips
are pre-loaded, the selected preview clip is played much more
quickly than the prior art GUIs which require launching of the
selected song as well as waiting for a "download" of the preview
clip or waiting to establish a "network stream". However, the
previously described embodiment where the preview clips are played
when the cursor 52 is moved into the trigger field 50 is preferred
because this facilitates and enhances the previewing experience of
the user/consumer and further allows an additional different
function to be assigned to the action of clicking on the trigger
field 50.
[0053] It should also be noted that the text of song selections 18
need not be enclosed in the visually distinct trigger fields 50 as
shown in FIG. 6 but instead, the trigger fields may also be made
transparent such that only the textual info, i.e. title and/or
artist name, label etc. of the song selections 18 are visible.
Moreover, the web site 44 may be provided with additional features
that allow the user/consumer 26 to purchase the music/song
previewed, download complete songs, etc. for later playing on the
computer or other devices such as Diamond's Rio.TM. MP3 players. Of
course, as previously noted, the media products previewed and sold
may include videos, movies, electronic game programs and even
software programs, etc. In this regard, the user/consumer may be
provided with an electronic "shopping cart" and be provided with
features such that the customer can "check out" of the web site by
paying for the desired media products. However, these features are
known in the art and need not be discussed in further detail
here.
[0054] In yet another alternative Internet implemented embodiment,
the present invention may also be used to preview video clips as
well. FIG. 8 illustrates such an embodiment where a preview window
screen 60 from the Internet web site is shown. As can be
recognized, the web site and the preview window screen was accessed
using the Microsoft's Internet Explorer.TM. browser. Like the prior
embodiment, the interactive GUI 62 includes a plurality of song
selections 64 which are accessible via corresponding trigger fields
66. When the preview window screen 60 is launched by the user from
the previous screen (not shown) of the web site, the preview clips
which include an audio clip or signal and a video clip or signal
corresponding to the plurality of song selections 64 are pre-loaded
into the cache memory on the hard drive via the browser Internet
Explorer.TM.. Once the GUI 62 in the preview window screen 60 is
displayed, the consumer activates or indicates one of the plurality
of song selections 64 which he or she would like to preview by
moving the cursor 68 into one of the trigger fields 66 via a mouse
or other input device such as a track ball or touch pad (not
shown). When this indication or activation by the consumer occurs,
the preview clip including the audio clip and a video clip of the
song indicated is played instantly in real time from the cache
memory on the hard drive for the consumer without noticeable delay.
Thus, in the illustration of FIG. 8, the audio clip as well as the
video clip of the indicated or activated song "Boardwalk" is played
instantly for the consumer in real-time by mere indication of which
song to preview via the cursor move 52 without the consumer having
to perform an added step of clicking to launch download to preview
the song, waiting for a download of the preview clip to complete or
waiting to establish and pre-buffer a network stream. A segment of
a computer code that may be used to implement the embodiment of the
present invention as illustrated in FIG. 8 of the application is
reproduced in APPENDIX B reproduced below.
[0055] As can be clearly seen, in the present embodiment, the video
clip 70 is displayed in the GUI 62 in the preview window screen 60.
The video clip 70 can also be rendered by the browser in use, which
in this case, is the Internet Explorer.TM.. And as described
relative to FIG. 7, the trigger fields 66 in this embodiment are
provided with more than one textual tags, each of the textual tags
being associated with a different function or feature. In this
manner, the user/consumer is allowed to preview both the audio clip
and a video clip of the selected song instantly without noticeable
delay so that the previewing experience is enhanced thereby
encouraging consumer's extended interaction with, and exploring of,
the selection of media products offered and, therefore enhancing
prospects of purchasing of one of the previewed media products
offered.
[0056] In addition, other media products including videos, movies,
electronic game programs and even software programs, etc. may be
previewed in the manner described above by providing a video clip
as well as an audio clip to the preview clip. In particular, video
and movie preview clips may be provided with a sound clip having
the dialog and/or music and a video clip having the corresponding
scene or clip. Electronic game programs may be previewed in a
similar manner by providing a clip of a game scene together with
the corresponding sound effects. Software programs may also be
previewed by either displaying key features or functions of the
program or by providing a summary of such features or
functions.
[0057] As can be seen from the examples discussed above, the
present invention provides an improved interactive graphical user
interface and method for previewing media products. The present
invention allows the consumer to preview clip of the media product
instantly without noticeable delay when the user/consumer indicates
the media product to be previewed. By minimizing the time wasted in
waiting to complete a download or establishing and pre-buffering a
network stream, the present invention allows the user to preview
media products in an efficient manner. This enhances the previewing
and shopping experience as well as encouraging consumer's extended
interaction with, and exploring of, the selection of media products
offered thereby enhancing prospects of purchasing of one of the
previewed media products offered.
[0058] As previously noted, the present invention may also be
implemented in listening booths, kiosks, in-store juke boxes,
sample computers, or other preview stations such as set top boxes
like Web TV.TM. to allow customers to preview some of the available
media products. For example, in such alternative implementations,
the input device 12 and the display device 10 of FIG. 2 may be
combined into a touch sensitive screen. In accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention, the preview clip of the
pre-recorded media product is instantly played for the consumer
when the user touches the screen to select the media product to be
previewed. Of course, listening booths, kiosks, in-store juke
boxes, sample computers, or other preview stations may instead, be
provided with a mouse, joystick, track ball or other indicating
device instead of a touch screen to allow indication of the desired
selection by merely moving the cursor into a trigger field as
discussed in the previous embodiments.
[0059] In addition, in such implementations which are commonly
stand alone units, the media product storage device 16 may be one
or more of numerous data storage devices such as a mini-disc, CD,
DVD, Laser Disc, etc. It is important to note however, that in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the
staging memory 8 is used which provides for a faster access time
than these storage media are typically capable of.
[0060] The present invention may also be used in still other
implementations as well. For instance, a preview CD may be issued
by a record label such as Sony.TM. or RCA.TM. which is readable via
a CD-ROM player of a consumer appliance that allows previewing of
the selections encapsulated on the CD in the manner described
above. Moreover, the CD may be provided with code for accessing an
Internet web site for a down loading or establishing network stream
to receive the complete media product when the media product
indicated is launched. Alternatively, both preview clips of a media
products as well as the complete media products may be distributed
on a high capacity storage such as DVD and the present invention
may be used with a DVD player to provide an improved interactive
GUI and method for previewing and navigating around and playback of
the contents of the DVD using the controls on a control panel of
such an appliance and/or infrared remote control. Thus, in this
embodiment, the GUI and method in accordance with the present
invention provides a navigational tool to aid the user in
identifying what the user desires to play on the DVD.
[0061] It is important to note that whereas most of the specific
implementations of the present invention discussed above, the
present invention is not limited thereto. It is reiterated that the
present invention is directed to a method for enhancing the user's
experience by synchronizing a multimedia feature with the movement
of an indicating device. In one embodiment of the present
invention, an improved interactive graphical user interface and
method for previewing media products is provided where the preview
clip of the media product is played instantly without noticeable
delay when the user/consumer indicates the media product to be
previewed. Preferably, this is attained by providing a GUI with a
plurality of trigger fields where the preview clips are instantly
played when a cursor is moved into the trigger field. And while the
implementations thus far discussed require the preloading of the
preview clips into the staging memory or the RAM memory of the
preview device, this need not be required in order to practice this
preferred embodiment of the present invention. As an example of
this alternative embodiment, a preview device which stores the
preview clips in a solid state, or flash- memory such as Sony
Corp.'s Memory Stick.TM. products may be provided in which such
pre-loading step is eliminated since the Memory Stick.TM. is a
solid state device and data stored thereon can be instantly
accessed. Thus, in this implementation, the preview clips stored on
the Memory Stick.TM. may be played instantly when the user
indicates the media product to be previewed by moving the cursor
into the trigger field. Therefore, as the data storage technology
continues to improve to attain faster access times and transfer
rates, such pre-loading of the preview clips as required in
CD-based, DVD-based and current Internet implementations would
cease to be necessary and the GUI and method of present invention
may be practiced in hardware implementations based on direct
communication with media storage devices.
[0062] From the foregoing, it should now be apparent how the
present invention improves the user's experience by synchronizing
the multimedia feature with the movement of the indicating device.
This is attained in one embodiment by providing an improved
interactive graphical user interface and method for previewing
media products. In addition, it can be seen how the present
invention allows a user/consumer to instantly preview clip of the
media product in real time with minimal delay. Furthermore, it can
also be seen how the present invention minimizes the time wasted
due to downloading or establishing and pre-buffering a network
stream thereby allowing the user to preview media products in an
efficient manner to enhance the previewing and shopping experience
of the user/consumer. Moreover, such enhanced previewing and
shopping experience will encourage consumer's extended interaction
with, and exploring of, the selection of media products offered
and, thereby enhancing prospects of purchasing of one of the
previewed media products offered.
[0063] While various embodiments in accordance with the present
invention have been shown and described, it is understood that the
invention is not limited thereto. These embodiments may be changed,
modified and further applied by those skilled in the art.
Therefore, this invention is not limited to the details shown and
described previously but also includes all such changes and
modifications.
* * * * *
References